Gathering Hears It’s Time To Act on Fiscal Crisis, Education, Other Issues

More than 1,200 Oregonians from all sectors, counties, and positions of leadership attended the 2018 Oregon Leadership Summit, December 3. The Summit theme, Time To Act, reflects the need to resolve Oregon’s growing fiscal crisis. Even in this strong economic expansion, the costs of state and local services are increasing faster than record revenues. Leaders gathered at the Summit to discuss reforms to slow the growth of pension and health care costs, reform our revenue system, and make new investments in education. The Summit also addressed other pressing issues such as stalled economic mobility, statewide housing shortages, catastrophic forest fires, demands on limited water resources, and the pressures of growth in regions such as Central Oregon.

Immediately below, see the Summit keynote video and a playlist of other video segments (click the icon in the upper left corner of the video for a drop down menu with each video segment), as well as our Oregon Business Plan sponsors, policy papers, presentations, photos, and news coverage and comment.

Oregon Business Plan Sponsors

Thank You!

Packet Materials

Detailed Agenda

Time To Act, Fiscal Policy Document

The Oregon Business Plan, Overview

A Framework for Poverty Reduction, Paper

Homelessness in the Portland Region, Oregon Community Foundation Report

Other Print Materials

Health Strategy Review and Renewed Focus

PERS Reform — Employee Choice and Shared Responsibility

PERS Reform — Working Retirement Payback Plan

PowerPoint Presentations from Breakout Sessions

PERS Presentation for 2018 Leadership Summit

PEBB and OEBB Presentation for 2018 Leadership Summit

Education Investments to Boost Learner Success

Investing in Pathways to Success through CTE-STEM

Photos

Event Snapshots

News Coverage

Brown Offers Vision But No Details at Business Summit, Portland Tribune

Kate Brown, Business Leaders Differ on Oregon’s Problems, The Oregonian

Gov. Kate Brown Quietly Balances Budget With Increase To “Minimum” Business Tax, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Business Leaders: Pension Reforms Must Be Part of 2019 Education Solution, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Harvard Economist Scores Oregon on Access to the American Dream, Oregon Business

Economic Mobility: Place and Community Matter, Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

Relief for Wine: It Might Be Time, Medford Mail Trubune

All of Oregon at Risk in 2019, Medford Mail Tribune

‘We Can Do Better’ in Health Care Delivery, Says CEO at Oregon Leadership Summit, Portland Business Journal

Wyden Downplays Trump’s Trade Deal with China, Portland Business Journal

Oregon Business Plan Emphasizes Immediacy, Portland Business Journal

Summary of the Day

Oregon Business Plan chair, Patrick Criteser, CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association, welcomed participants to the morning plenary session at the Oregon Convention Center.  Governor Kate Brown and a panel of business leaders kicked off the session with a discussion of policy priorities in the coming legislative session. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley offered their views on federal issues likely to impact Oregon in the next Congress.

The morning keynote address was delivered live via satellite by Harvard economist Raj Chetty, a leading voice on economic mobility and founding director of Opportunity Insights. (See Chetty video and playlist of additional video segments at left.) The new research and policy institute is focused on using research and big data to revive flagging economic mobility at a state and local level.

Chetty took the audience through the institute’s Opportunity Atlas, which identifies factors that aid or inhibit economic mobility across the nation. In the process, he did a deep dive on several Oregon localities. Opportunity Insights, which partners with local and regional jurisdictions to apply data to policy solutions, is exploring the potential of working with Oregon on poverty and mobility issues. Reducing poverty is a key goal and focus of the Oregon Business Plan.

The balance of the plenary session included TED-style talks on PERS reform, revenue reform, Medicaid funding, education investment, housing shortages, forest fires, water, and growth in the Bend area. The session also heard from leaders of the Legislative Committee on Student Success, which visited communities across the state in 2018 to learn more about what students need to succeed. Afternoon breakout sessions engaged participants in all of these issues in greater depth.